June 15, 1947

{Yes, according to
general say so of Miss or Mrs. Fama, the St. Agnes Church in Tallulah dates
backto a distant 1855. I doubt that we have Civil Parish Records
for it, for at that time no courthouseexisted in Tallulah, and evenif it did, Louisiana did
not issue Birth certificates a hundred years ago. Keep, therefore this
venerable age of St. Agnes for yourself, for present day women-folk are not
inclined to reveal what burden of years is resting on their backs, preferring
to be perpetually young and attractive. Also this writer andthe people
entrusted to his care do not crave for publicity or a centennial celebrationwithin six short yearsto come.}

St. Agnes
Chapel, humble and unpretentious, originally served from Lake Providence, was a
prideful record of able servitors & faithful communicants. Weddings and
Funerals, Christenings and Communions have made history, and left lasting
echoes within its walls & here are touches unique in Church history.

Much of the timber used in these
walls was brought from the dismantled church at Milliken's Bend--Milliken'sBend,
now a phantomtown buried in the restless waters of the mighty
Mississippi River, but historic in Civil War times when it was the headquartersof three Federal Generals, and outstanding in the era of cotton and
steamboatsupremacy.

The church
there, by the side of a high green levee, was built under the auspices of one
Honoré Morancy, a gentleman planter and connoisseur d'art, who with his brother Emile andlittle
sister, Victoria, had escaped to these United States from a Santo Domingo
native uprising.

This was
accomplishedthrough the ingenuity of their nurse who had secreted the
children in a sugar hogshead which was ultimately rolled onto a rescuing vessel
belonging to a StephenGerard.

The little
church was probably built as a votive offering for an escape from peril, and
its kindly sponsorattended
it faithfully, bemoaning the onslaughts of the irreverent river whose muddy waters
besmirched its whiteness and finally tore it to pieces.

What little
could be saved of the original church, was rebuilt about 1/2 mile south of the
present levee, within two or three miles of the old Milliken's Bend location--but
in what year is uncertain to say; it may have been between 1882 and 1884/85.
Neither do I know exactly in what year said chapel was brokendown
and moved to its present location right here in town, what is now highway 65;
there are differences of opinion about it. But some reasonable conclusion may
be reached perhaps from given premises and
accordingly I judgethat the Chapel must have come to Tallulah proper by
the end of 1911 or in the early part of 1912.

(In this
connection I rest my figuring on the following statements: A catholic couple
still living here had pointed out to me some two years ago where the chapel’s
second location had been and their's was one of the last--or even the last
wedding performed in said chapel thirty-six years ago, 1911 therefore. It was
Rev. Fr. W. P. Nothofer who united them in holy wedlock, When however Tallulah
and all its surroundingwas submerged in flood waters May, June and July
1912, St. Agnes stood serenely at its present location and there are numbers of
witnesses for it. Regarding this periodtherefore I wouldadvise
you to consult Rev. M. P. Nothoferwhose brilliant memory can surely
shed some light along these uncertain times and developments.)

In 1927 St. Agnes faced another more widespread flood with five to six
ft. of water inside the church as attested by citizens of the town who were
then living here, remembering these more recent dates as vividly as if they had
happened only yesterday.

When thestately automobile
began taking over our era replacing the horse and buggy andsteamer
conveyances, when networks of good roads and highways were built, shrinkingthe
distances from place to place, then St. Agnes was regularly served from Lake Providence whose
zealousPastors visited this Community twice every month (of thatperiodRev. Fr. Robert DeVrindtcan tell you more than I am able to report
of it), until the formal erection of the Parish was established on the 25th of
October 1936, and Rev. Fr. J. C. Vandegaerarriving here as the first
resident pastor on the 25th of November1936, underthe able
leadership of Most Reverend Bishop Danile F. Desmond, of blessed memory.

On the 9th of November 1939
the writer of this historical sketch was dispatched to Tallulah, where
he arrived on the 16th of said month, faithfully keeping hisresidence here, and theless is said
of him and his activities the better for past,
present and future generations. Let the goodLord be the sole
judge of it while you are acquainted with the restof these records.

Looking into the
near future with prophetic view, the oft moved and rebuilt St. Agnes Churchhas
yet a great mission to fulfill. So far it has served the white Catholic
populationof Madison Parish, but under the energetic activities of our
far-sighted new and beloved ordinary, Most Rev. Charles Paschalis Greco, D.D.,
St. Agnes is destined to goonthe hike once more to serve a hopeful colored Catholic population in
Tallulah, where the Church expects to reap an abundant harvest of souls
in years to come.

With light or heavy
heart Tallulah's early Catholic settlers may bid farewell to dear old St. Agnes
which hasseen a century
float by, but a relic of the distant past will not be left behind, and has to
accompany them to a new, larger and brick veneered building, able to accommodate
an ever growing Catholic population. The old St. Agnes Bell which has seen so
much happiness and sorrow, worry and grief, times of bitter strife and well
earned peace, will accompany the change from the old to the new, nobody is
inclinedto part with that Bell which has a history all its own.

The oldest folks of
the parish will tell youhow way back in 1882 a fussy little
stern-wheeler, the Iron Mountain, pushing fourbarges, was
drawn by a whirling current into the crevasse in the Buckhorn levee, just above
Milliken's Bend. There the luckless steamer was dashed to pieces, but the
barges broke away and kept afloat. Machinery settled in the silt beneath the
boiling waters, but the woodwork floated far and wide, and for many years
startling effects were accomplishedtherewith in the negro cabins,
cotton houses and fences of the neighborhood. The Steamer's smoke stacksrested themselves above the Talla Benagin and the Iron Mountainheavy whistle effectively awoke the countryside.

The Bell with its
silver tone was also used for a timeon the plantation to send the hands
into the fields andcall them backat noon. But ultimately it
found its way to Tallulah,and is now in the belfry ofSt. Agnes.
This steamboat bell has found a resting place Under God's Roof and daily sendsits benisons afar.

No longerattuned to the
crisp commands of captains, the picturesque profanity of mates, and the
chanting of roustabouts, one yet feels that much of the beautyand
appeal of its tone had been gathered from the nightwinds, the lapping
ofthe waves, the lonely call of the waterfowl, the whisper of fringing
trees, the answeringbells of other boats and all the thousand soundsknown only to the river.

Just listen to
the dying tones of the bell, listen to the strange story hidden within
its molten depths: “In nomine Domini, in nomine Domini, in nomineDomini",
is its massive call to the goodpeople of St. Agnes in Tallulah.

CATHOLIC CHURCH HERE TO CELEBRATE 51st ANNIVERSARY

By Sarah Spencer Scurria

October 1987

The Catholic Church will celebrate
its 51st anniversary in Tallulah this month. A covered dish dinner
will be served October 21st in conjunction with the celebration in the parish
hall.

The parish hall at St. Edwards
Catholic is used for educational and recreational purposes and was built while
Father Louis Voorhies was pastor. It has been a very beneficial addition for
the people of the parish, especially for the youth.

The first Catholic Church in the
Village of Tallulah was St. Agnes Catholic Church, which was located on Highway
65. It was a white frame building typical of the style built during this
period. St. Agnes Church was humble and unpretentious. The priest came from
Lake Providence to serve here.

This church served as the house of
worship for the Catholics in this parish until the land was bought on Highway
80 for building the new church. This was where the beautiful St. Edwards Church
was built, with the front overlooking Brushy Bayou.

The first ordained Catholic priest
to serve as a residing minister for St. Agnes Church was the honorable Father
John C. Vandegaer, who arrived in Tallulah on October 19, 1936. His first mass
was joyfully celebrated on Sunday, October 20, 1936. This was a beautiful
beginning for the Catholics in this parish...to have their very own priest, to
be able to attend mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation.

Here their babies were baptized,
received their First Communion, were later confirmed, weddings were performed
here and members of the church had their funeral mass in this sacred building.
Memories linger, both joyous and sad ones.

The formal erection of the parish was on October 25, 1936.
Formal installation of the first priest was on November 26, 1936.

Father Vandegaer served the parish in a most dignified
and dedicated manner until November 16, 1939, when Father Robert M. Maure
became pastor.

During Father Maure's pastoral
leadership, the new Catholic Church was built and at this time the name was
changed from St. Agnes to St. Edwards. The bishop at this time was the Most
Reverend Charles Pasguale Greco D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria.

The present location was purchased
by Father R.M. Maure on the 15th of January, 1947 as the old location was too
small for future development.

St. Edwards Catholic Church was
dedicated by the Most Reverend Charles P. Greco on October 3, 1948. The rectory
was built in 1947 and Father Maure took up residence there on the 19th of
December 1947.

Following is a list of the priests
in the order in which they served as pastors of the church from its beginning
until the present time. Each one serving the people of the parish in a most
dedicated manner, giving of themselves and their time in such a sacrificial
way, leaving a beautiful heritage when they departed either to serve in another
parish or by death.

1936-39--Reverend John C. Vandegaer (deceased)

1939-54--Reverend Robert M. Maure (deceased)

1954-56--Reverend Bernard F. Maquire (deceased)

1956-61--Reverend William Hopp (deceased)

1962-62--Reverend Conners (died in a fire at Rectory same
year at the age of 46)